PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Donald A Boudreau

Publications and source records attributed to Donald A Boudreau.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

ACE insert/delete polymorphism and atherosclerosis.

We report on the results of a large autopsy study focusing upon the hypothesis that deletion of the Alu insert in the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene is associated with: (a) greater prevalence or extent of atherosclerosis in the aorta and coronary arteries; and (b) microscopic qualities of established atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries. This study was conducted in young US black (n=290) and white (n=379) males using available materials and data from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study, a multi-center cooperative autopsy study organized in 1985 to explore the relationships of known cardiovascular risk factors to atherosclerosis in victims of accidents, homicides, or suicides in the age range of 15-34 years. The results provide strong evidence that ACE genotype may not be a predictor of either the prevalence or the extent of the lesions of atherosclerosis in the right coronary artery or the aorta of young adults, an observation that confirms previous studies that estimated the prevalence and extent of atherosclerosis using coronary angiography. In addition, the results suggest that ACE genotype does not contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic lesions that have the characteristics of vulnerable plaques in the left anterior descending coronary artery of young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The ATM gene is a target for epigenetic silencing in locally advanced breast cancer.

Several epidemiological studies on ataxia-telangiectasia families indicate that obligate ATM heterozygotes display an elevated risk for developing breast cancer. However, a molecular basis for a potential link between diminished ATM function and sporadic breast malignancy remains elusive. Here, we show that 78% (18 out of a panel of 23) of surgically removed breast tumors (stage II or greater) displayed aberrant methylation of the ATM proximal promoter region as judged by methylation-specific PCR. Aberrant methylation of the ATM promoter was independently confirmed in several tumors by bisulfite sequencing. Moreover, bisulfite sequencing indicated that this region of the genome is subject to dense methylation. Further, we found a highly significant correlation (P = 0.0006) between reduced ATM mRNA abundance, as measured by real-time RT-PCR, and aberrant methylation of the ATM gene promoter. These findings indicate that epigenetic silencing of ATM expression occurs in locally advanced breast tumors, and establish a link at the molecular level between reduced ATM function and sporadic breast malignancy.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins↗
PubMed2003

Atherosclerosis in coronary arteries and aorta among Greenlanders: an autopsy study.

In a cross-sectional autopsy study of 107 Inuit in Greenland, the extent of arterial surface involvement with atherosclerosis was evaluated in the presence of known or estimated environmental risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD): age, gender, obesity, serum lipids, smoking, and hypertension. Mean, median, and range values for all of the risk factor variables and for the extent of atherosclerosis in the thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, right coronary artery, and left anterior descending coronary artery are reported by age strata, along with the results of covariant analysis of the dependence of the extent of atherosclerosis upon the risk factors. No significant differences between females and males were found in either the risk factors or prevalence and extent of atherosclerosis in the aorta and in the coronary arteries. It appears that the extent of advanced atherosclerotic lesions in Greenlanders appears to be the same as that previously reported in a similar study in Alaska Natives.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Integration of a statewide public hospital laboratory system.

Louisiana operates one of the largest public hospital and clinic systems in the nation, consisting of nine geographically dispersed hospitals, providing a full range of medical care to approximately 1 million low-income and indigent citizens. For many years, these hospitals were under the auspices of the State Department of Hospitals. In 1997, just at the end of a multi-million-dollar procurement project to install laboratory information systems at several of the sites, governance of the nine hospitals was transferred formally to Louisiana State University (LSU) under a new branch, the LSU Health Care Services Division. As a result of Y2K issues at several sites not originally included in the procurement, the LIS installation had to be expanded while facing a very critical implementation deadline. This article describes the procedural and organizational strategies used to successfully accomplish a major project of reorganization and systemic integration of nine geographically distant and disparate public hospital laboratories while simultaneously installing a new networked LIS at all sites within a relatively short span of 3 years.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗